Workers’ Rights Issues
The emancipation of the serfs led to a dramatic increase in population in Russian cities, as people moved away from the countryside to urban areas. The industrial revolution reached Russia significantly later than the rest of Europe. The period after emancipation was the first time the lower classes of Russia had been free to leave the land on which they were born. Many left the land not by choice, but out of financial necessity—they were in need of work, and lacked the ability to support themselves on the land.
Factories in Russian cities paid low wages, lower than in western Europe, and offered no protections for workers. The government was reluctant to implement even the most minimal of regulations, like a ban on children working at night. Eventually, a ban was put in place limiting night work for women and children, and the workday was limited to no more than 11 ½ hours.
Smaller workshops were entirely exempt from these regulations. These workshops employed the majority of Russian workers, particularly Russian women. These smaller employers could continue to opt for abusive labor policies.
There were serious safety issues at many factories. Machinery and work conditions were unsafe. There was no insurance to protect against injuries or accidental death, and workers lacked the right to strike over working conditions. Workers in late 19th and early 20th century Russia were largely treated like serfs, with few rights and little control over their own work environments.
In 1905, after Bloody Sunday, trade unions were legalized. Workers began to strike frequently, looking for better conditions. Workers in Russia became more likely to strike and were more effective with their labor resistance than anywhere else in Europe. The railroad strike in 1917 was critical to the abdication of Nicholas II.